Self Employment: What Skills Do You Need In 2021?
Self-employment isn’t for everyone, but if you feel like you’re a self-starter that wants to build something for yourself, we say go for it. Self-employment is great, but it does come with its set of challenges. You need to be more responsible than you were at your employed job as there will be no boss or supervisor to push you to get things done.
Whether you want to be a small business owner, a sub-contractor or even a freelancer, to be successful and to achieve your financial goals here are some skills you should already have, or be working on acquiring.
1. Time Management
When you become your own boss, the phrase “time is money” will make much sense. The more you let time pass by you without doing anything productive the more you let potential income pass you by. With a huge list of thing to get done, time really flies by and before you know it, you may just suffer from a case of burnout. Before you start looking of ways or tools to improve your time management skills, it would be wise to consider these 3 steps.
Awareness: thinking realistically about your time by understanding it is a limited resource.
Arrangement: designing and organizing your goals, plans, schedules, and tasks to effectively use time.
Adaptation: monitoring your use of time while performing activities, including adjusting to interruptions or changing priorities.
2. Interpersonal Skills
Some people thrive off of the energies of others while others prefer to retreat back into their shells. As someone who is self-employed, you need to interact with people frequently for you to be able to create business relations in the first place. It is also necessary to maintain those relationships to ensure the continuity of your business.
3. Tech-Savvy
Now, this may seem daunting at first, but being tech-savvy does not mean that you need to learn how to code. However, learning a few skills and perhaps the logic behind some forms of technology can help you save costs. After all, the objective of a business is to maximise profit. You will not be able to achieve that if you have to pay someone for tasks that you could use yourself with the help of the technologies available. You also need to have expertise in your field for you to manage your business soundly.
4. Self-Motivation
Running your own show is no easy feat. It is important that you motivate yourself and push yourself to the next level, even in times of difficulty. To put it simply, you’ll have to rely on yourself. Stick it out, think of ways to make the best out of your situation and one day you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labour.
5. Innovation and creativity
Competition ins inevitable, to stay on top you have to stand out. How? Through innovation and unique product offerings of course! Be unique, creative, and offer great service.
Keep a book of questions and take note of pain points of an everyday experience- this can help you brainstorm for ideas that could solve a real problem. Always stay curious and ask for feedback. Look at what your competitors are doing and do the opposite. There are many ways to spin something old, you just have to be more observant.
These are some of the basic skills that you need for you to survive in self-employment. Not for the faint of heart, self-employment invariably includes a number of ups and downs. However, if you work hard at developing the skills highlighted above and stay the course, you too can reap the benefits that come with working for yourself.
